LOS ANGELES -- The Warriors were dealt some tough luck Thursday night, one day before Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Andrew Wiggins joined the Warriors' injury report with a left costal cartilage fracture, which pertains to one's ribs. The injury isn't uncommon and often results from direct contact to the sternum.
While trying to box out LeBron James with a little over five minutes remaining in the Warriors' Game 5 win Wednesday night, Wiggins grabbed his ribs. If that is when his injury occurred, Wiggins played nearly three more minutes before coach Steve Kerr emptied his bench. In that span, Wiggins also completed a three-point play where he made a hook shot through contact.
Kevon Looney sustained a non-displaced first costal cartilage fracture in Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals and was expected to miss the rest of the series. However, he returned for Game 4 but clearly played through pain.
Golden State's coaching staff will consult Rick Celebrini and the rest of the medical staff for further evaluations of Wiggins' status. They can't afford to lose him, though, while down three games to two and on the brink of elimination in the best-of-seven series. Especially after how great the small forward played Wednesday in the Warriors' 121-106 win.
"This was the best game Wiggs has played since he's been back over, I guess, three weeks or so now," Kerr said afterward. "Just the way he attacked, the way he got to the rim. That adds another dimension to our attack.
Golden State Warriors
"I thought the last couple games in LA, we just didn't get to the line a ton. We settled for a lot of stuff. I thought Wiggs did a good job of really being aggressive."
In 36 minutes, Wiggins scored 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting while also guarding James up and down the court. Wiggins also added seven rebounds, five assists and one steal, and his plus-16 plus/minus was second to only Gary Payton II's plus-25.
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As Kerr noted, Wiggins also got to the free-throw line twice and made all three of his attempts.
Wiggins has averaged 16.8 points on 47.7 percent shooting and 37.5 percent from 3-point range in the series. His impact is felt on both sides of the ball, and he also has averaged 6.0 rebounds per game against the Lakers, behind only Looney (9.2) and Draymond Green (7.4).
The Warriors weren't the same without Wiggins when he missed the final two months of the regular season for a family matter. He's a major key to their title defense, and his injury adds a rough wrinkle to the conference semifinals and the Warriors' chances of advancing to the Western Conference finals.